Phantom poetry
by dracomilloy
Summary: so this popped into my head, Lancer assigns the class a poem to read, here is the outcome... i swear it is better than the summary makes it seem :) trigger warning: suicide


Danny ran into his first period English classroom just as the school bell rang. walking past an unimpressed Lancer he quickly sat in his seat next to tucker his best friend and Sam his crush/ other best friend...not that he would ever admit the first title. as soon as everybody was settled in their seats, Lancer spoke.

"good morning, as you may know if you have been listening at all these past few days, today we will be starting my favourite unit...POETRY! Doesn't that sound," he paused to look at a book laying on his desk, "totally rad?" with this came many face-palms that the teacher didn't notice as he began to distribute papers to everybody. "The poetry unit this year has a central theme of bullying, so I always like to begin with a poem that my best friend wrote in the late fifties when we were fourteen, yes I am in my sixties, no I will not tell you my exact age. so anyways, I do not feel like reading this poem because it is very personal, so please split into groups of 2-3 and read and discuss it. I will be at my desk if anybody has an issue." the teacher seemed to fall into his chair sadly when he said this but most people just brushed it off as his old age, he was in his sixties after all.

The trio of friends each looked at the poems in their hands and decided to begin reading it, it felt more like a suicide note. by the time they were finished even Sam was blinking rapidly to stop tears that were welling in her eyes. "you don't think...?" tucker asked his friends, unable to find the appropriate words to use.

Danny answered tuckers unfinished question "that the author killed them self? I wouldn't doubt it, but I also wouldn't ask about it either...this was Lancer's best friend after all." the rest of the trio agreed that although they were curious, they couldn't ask Lancer, but apparently another person in their class did not have their same objections.

"um...Mr. Lancer, is the writer dead or something, because I thought poems were supposed to be happy and romantic like the ones that phantom writes me." Paulina practically shrieks, at least that's what it sounds like to Sam, who is looking at Danny, both looking creeped out about how obsessive Paulina is.

"to respond to your first two statements, yes, he committed suicide about a week after writing this, and no, they are not all like that, there are as many types of poems as there are novels, maybe even more, there is or can be a poem for anything, with absolutely no limitations."

"I am sorry to hear about your friend Mr. Lancer, if you don't mind me asking, what was his name?" Sam felt like she needed to know this person that was so depressed, because everybody deserves to be remembered.

"his name was Sidney Poindexter, we went to Casper High together, he would probably be in one of the old yearbooks." when their teacher said this, the trio gasped, they didn't expect Lancers childhood friend to be Poindexter, the ghost that haunts locker 724.

After all questions were asked and Mr. Lancer said something about how poetry must come from the heart and involve real feelings, he let the class spend the last five minutes talking. by the time the bell finally rang, all but three people in the class had totally forgotten about the depressing poem and Sidney Poindexter. Mr. Lancer could hear them speaking hurriedly about talking to Sidney before the day ends...that couldn't be right, but they spoke as if they knew Sid personally...Lancer decided that they were probably just talking about somebody in another of their classes, he was pretty sure there was a Sidney on the hockey team. but for some reason it didn't really seem likely.

~DP~

"hey Sidney wanna come out and chat? we haven't spoken in forever and you know how good the egg cream is on this side of the locker." Danny had gotten on Poindexter's good side and had even put a portable portal to the ghost zone in the locker for him so that they could talk every so often. Poindexter had realized that Danny was the bullied not the bully and Danny had realised that having a ghost helping with the bullies at Casper high wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, as long as nobody gets seriously hurt. when he heard the offer of soda, Poindexter stepped out of locker 724 and took the can offered to him.

Sidney floated about an inch off of the ground when he spoke to Danny, "hiya halfa, how's it goin' in the land of the living?"

"good I guess, and I have been meaning to come hang out with you for a while, but there's always people and you know how I hate attention."

"well, it seems like you got over it, people are staring at you now you know!" Poindexter seemed worried, "so what is so important that you don't seem to notice the crowd?" Danny begins to explain, but Sam first hands the poem sheet to the nerdy ghost, as he reads it his eyes widen in sadness and shock. "where did you get this?"

Tucker explained, "you see, we started the poetry unit in English so our teacher gave us a poem written by his best friend to show us that poetry needs real emotion behind it."

"I'm surprised..." began Sam.

"at what? my reaction to this? I got over the whole thing when I began to help other people who are being bullied go through it differently than I did." Poindexter explained to the Goth.

"actually I'm surprised that Tucker actually knew what Mr. Lancer said...he never listens in class." the group of four laughed while the eavesdroppers were still very confused as to what was going on.

"wait, Eddy's your teacher? he must be what? 67 years old by now? how's he doing? is he a nice teacher?" Sidney had so many questions yet he couldn't seem to get them all out.

"whoa there Sid, so many questions! would you like to ask him some of them? we could bring you to his office, it's his lunch period right now." Sam suggested.

"nonononononono...I couldn't do that to him he would freak, I'm an GHOST for crying out loud!"

"How about if we warn him that it is shocking, and ghosts are way more common nowadays, it's not 1954 anymore" Tucker tried to convince Poindexter that this was a good idea. it took offers of egg cream for a month but the trio eventually convinced him and had started to walk towards the vice principal's office.

~DP~

"Okay, wait right here invisibly for a second, we'll call you when we are ready okay?" Danny patted Sid on the back right before the full ghost turned invisible and the trio knocked at the door. a faint 'come in' was heard so they turned the knob almost hesitantly and entered.

"hello Mr. Fenton, Ms. Manson, and Mr. Foley, what can I help you with today?" Mr. Lancer asked the trio kindly.

"actually, nothing sir, but you might be able to help our friend. you see, he is a ghost, and he has lost his best friend, a lot like you did in the fifties, and now he's trying to find this person that he lost." tucker began.

"I'm sorry but I'm not seeing how I can help with this issue." Lancer says, confused.

"you can help us by not freaking out when he walks into your office in a few seconds." Sam clarifies. pointing to the door that Danny just walked out of. he reappears but this time, he is not alone, the figure standing beside him is one the balding teacher recognises very well after all these years, one that still haunts his nightmares. Subconsciously Lancer had stood up and started walking towards his old friend, when he reached him he was happily surprised that the nerdy ghost was tangible when he pulled him into a hug. seeing their teacher crying, and Poindexter joining him in sob city not long after, the trio decided that now was the time to quietly slip out of the office.

"see ya Sid, don't forget to visit us more" they said as they walked out of the door beaming.


End file.
